Conviction and Stress
Conviction
Conviction is a measure of your Operator’s inner reserve of willpower and confidence. Whether it’s bravado, arrogance, or self-belief, an Operator with a high Conviction score is less likely to suffer from Panic during a Mission.
- Operators all begin with a maximum Conviction score of 20.
- Receiving during play lowers your Operator’s current Conviction score.
- The lower your current Conviction score, the more likely it is that your Operator will fail a .
- Specific Panic effects will permanently lower an Operator’s maximum Conviction.
Restoring Conviction
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Roll a on any Stat Check or | Gain 2 Conviction |
| Succeed on a using one of your | Gain 1 Conviction |
| Succeed on your | Gain 1 Conviction |
| Certain Effects | Gain X Conviction |
| Rest | Gain X Conviction |
| Downtime | Restore full Conviction |
Ways to Spend Conviction
Restore another Operator’s Conviction
Operators often need to work together to survive. At any time, outside of combat, an Operator may spend their own to restore the Conviction of a nearby Operator they can see, hear, or touch. The ally gains Conviction equal to the amount the Operator chooses to spend. The player should describe how they aid and restore their fellow Operator.
Restore another Operator’s Conviction during Combat
- The Operator must spend a and declare how much Conviction they are spending to aid their ally.
- The allied Operator then rolls their :
- If the is successful, then the ally’s Conviction is restored as described above.
- If the Save is a Failure, the ally’s Conviction is not restored, and the Conviction spent by the Operator is lost.
- If the Save is a , the ally’s Conviction is not restored, and the Conviction spent by the Operator is lost. Both must make .
- If the Save is a , the amount of Conviction restored to the ally is double the amount spent by the Operator.
Increase your chances of succeeding on a Stat Check or Save. See the section on Burn.
Stress
Stress is a measure of the tension and anxiety that wears down an Operator’s , bringing them ever closer to . As your Operator receives Stress, their Conviction score decreases and they are more likely to fail a . The effects of that failure may be catastrophic. There are many ways for a character to receive Stress throughout a game session, but failing a Stat Check or Save is the most common.
Whenever an Operator receives Stress, they lower their current Conviction score by that amount.
- Whenever an Operator fails a Stat Check or , they receive 1 Stress
- Whenever an Operator a Stat, they receive 2 Stress
- Whenever an Operator Critically fails a Save, they receive 3 Stress and make a Panic Check
- Whenever an Operator fails a Save using their , they receive 1 Stress, and all other Operators in the group also receive 1 Stress
- Whenever an Operator Critically Fails a Prime Save, they and all Operators in the group receive 3 Stress and must make a
Control may create many exciting and awful ways to introduce Stress.
A few examples of situations that may cause Stress:
- Encountering particular creatures or locations
- Going without sleep, food, or water
- Being knocked unconscious
- Failure at a crucial moment
Burn
There are times when a character needs to push harder, go faster, or accomplish the seemingly impossible. When those moments come, it's time to Burn.
In CHROME, an Operator can spend their inner reserves of to increase their chances of success on a or . Burn cannot be used on or Distortion rolls. Burning Conviction is not without risk, as failure can lead to sudden Distortion!
- Before the Operator rolls their Stat Check or Save, they declare how much Conviction they intend to Burn. They deduct that Conviction from their Conviction score.
- For each point of Conviction spent, the Operator can add +10 to their Stat or Save value. No Stat or Save value can be raised above 80.
- The Operator makes the Check:
- If the result is a success, it becomes a !
- If the result is a Critical Success, every member of the squad restores 2 points of Conviction.
- If the result is a failure, the Operator must immediately roll on the Effect Table and take the result.